New plan will outline services for entrepreneurs and small businesses

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 28, 2013

For more information, please contact:
Danise Alano-Martin, Director, City of Bloomington Department of Economic and Sustainable Development, 349.3477


New plan will outline continuum of services for entrepreneurs and small businesses

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington, Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), and the Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship at Ivy Tech-Bloomington have launched a joint effort to develop an entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem action plan for Bloomington and Monroe County.

The effort will convene leaders of several local organizations that provide services to startups and small businesses to review current programs and services, identify possible new programs and services based on best practices in other communities, and develop recommendations for the community.

"Entrepreneurship is not new to Bloomington," Mayor Mark Kruzan said. "But entrepreneurs have new ideas every day that, in the right environment and with the right help, will be transformed into new businesses and new jobs. As a community, we have to make sure we're providing the right support at the right time."

The goal is to provide clear, coordinated pathways for entrepreneurs and small businesses as well as for those organizations that provide services to them.

"We're calling this team together to develop an ecosystem that is easy to navigate from a startup's standpoint and sustainable to support from a service provider's standpoint," said Ron Walker, president of the BEDC.

The Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship was established at Ivy Tech Bloomington in 2010 to provide students, individuals and small businesses with a means to gain and develop the practical application of entrepreneurial skills and ideas.

Chancellor John Whikehart said this joint effort with the City and BEDC helps to further that mission and ensure that the Bloomington and Monroe County communities provide a continuum of service to entrepreneurs as their businesses develop.

"Entrepreneurs take great personal risks which can return immense community rewards in terms of jobs and economic vitality," Whikehart said. "A community that is successful in helping entrepreneurs make sure those risks are calculated risks - by providing education, technical expertise, mentorship, financial capital and so on - will reap long-term economic benefits that are driven by home-grown innovation."

The group will create an asset map of existing entrepreneurship and innovation programs, benchmark other communities that have programs and services to support the innovation economy, detail gaps that exist locally and regionally and gather best practices ideas from local entrepreneurial thought leaders. The group will release a final report and recommendations in the spring, and will continue to work toward implementing those recommendations.

Funding for the initiative has come in part from a recent Community Impact Funding Grant from the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. Multiple local organizations will be included in the project.

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